The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Dr. George Burnet. Burnet joined the Army on May 16, 1944. He studied chemical warfare, and was trained on the 4.2 inch mortar battalion. He served as a forward observer with the 99th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. Around mid-1944, they were deployed to the Philippines and participated in the Battle of Leyte. He recovered from malaria around June and July of 1945. Beginning in September, they served in the occupation of Japan, providing military support to the U.S. government and completing 8 months of demilitarization duties. In mid to late 1946, they occupied a Japanese military base in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture. He continued his service, and received his discharge in December of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with George Burnet. He discusses his childhood growing up during the Great Depression and what led him to join the chemical warfare service of the US Army. He describes all the different training camps he was sent to around the US and eventually being deployed in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with James C. Nolan. Nolan joined the Navy on October 19, 1943. He completed Landing Craft School, and served as Landing Craft Coxswain, Seaman First-Class aboard the USS Pierce (APA-50). They traveled to Kwajalein, Palaus, Guadalcanal, Leyte, New Guinea, Lingayen Gulf, Subic Bay and Okinawa. Nolan made eight total landings aboard landing craft boat number 13. He recalls his combat experiences landing on Leyte on October 20, 1944 in the third wave. After the war ended, the Pierce traveled to Seoul, Korea and Japan to pick up and transfer troops back to the U.S. He received his discharge on January 26, 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Callanan. Callanan joined the Army in March of 1942. He trained in California, building airstrips, hangars, temporary bridges, Quonset huts and worked on other construction projects. Callanan served as a master sergeant with the 1876th Engineer Aviation Battalion in New Guinea and in the Philippines. He returned to the US in December of 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Thomas Killian. Killian joined the Army in April of 1945, at the young age of 14 years old. He was assigned to the 29th Regimental Combat Team, 10th Army. He traveled to Okinawa, arriving 26 June 1945, participating in the invasion of the island. They traveled south on the island, towards Naha, and helped with cleanup, and had some direct combat with the Japanese. By August the bombs had been dropped and the war was over. Killian remained on the island until 26 August. He returned to the US and was discharged in May of 1948. In August of 1949, Killian rejoined, and by June of 1950 he was back in Okinawa. From there, he participated in the Korean War with E Company, 7th Cavalry. He was wounded and discharged in July of 1951.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Howard Stearns. Stearns joined the Army in July of 1946. He served with the 1st Cavalry Division, 5th Cavalry Regiment. In December he traveled to Yokohama, Japan aboard the USS General W. M. Black (AP-135). Stearns was assigned to the 4th Replacement Depot in Japan, and worked as a non-commissioned officer, overseeing a supply room during the occupation of Japan. Stearns also transported war criminals by vehicle to the war crime trials, sat in on the trials, then escorted the criminals back to the Sugamo prison in Tokyo. He returned to the US and was discharged in November of 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Milton Lackowitz. Lackowitz joined the Navy in mid-1943. He completed Aviation Radioman’s School, and served as a TBF Avenger Radioman/Gunner aboard the USS Santee (CVE-29). He later served as a Gunner’s Mate in the Fire Control Division. They participated in the New Guinea Campaign, the Philippines Campaign, the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa. Lackowitz returned to the US after the war ended.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Virginia Cumberland. During World War II, Cumberland worked in a factory in Indiana as a tool and die maker. She also speaks some about a brother of hers that was in the service and stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas and served overseas in France.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Walter Karnes. Karnes was drafted into the Army in January 1945. He was aboard a troop ship in the Pacific headed for the Philippines when the war with Japan ended. He spent some time guarding Japanese prinsoners of war on Leyte before deciding to extend his enlistment. He was back in the US in December and was assigned to Germany in Janaury 1946. He shares a few anecdotes about his time in Occupied Germany. His enlistment expired in October 1946 and Karnes opted for discharge in January 1947.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Gordon Wilkinson. Wilkinson was drafted into the Army in January 1945. He completed basic training in Camp Wheeler, Georgia. He provides details of his experiences in training. He served in the Luzon, Philippines campaign. They first landed in Eniwetok and picked up a convoy then headed into the Philippines. He was a part of the fifth replacement and later the 43rd Infantry Division and Headquarters Company. They were set up in Cabanatuan. Then they traveled to Japan in September 1945. The 43rd Infantry Division was deactivated and Wilkinson joined the 1st Cavalry Division in Osaka, and he was assigned to the 302nd Recon. He provides detail of his time in Osaka. He left Japan in December 1945 and was shipped to Fort Stevens, Oregon where he re-enlisted. He attended Counter Intelligence School in Baltimore, Maryland. He was then stationed in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was in the service 29 years, and retired as Chief Warrant Officer Four.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Upton Ruddock. Upton’s wife, Mary, assists with the interview. Ruddock was drafted into the Army in May 1944. He went to Fort Riley, Kansas for basic training. He trained on horseback. He was part of the 56th Cavalry Brigade. After training he went to war, leaving California November 1944. They landed at Bombay, India. He joined the 124th Cavalry Regiment of the MARS Task Force. They crossed India by train to Ledo, Burma. He took care of eight mules and two horses, utilizing them to help carry their food, supplies and equipment to the Burma Road. He discusses other experiences in Burma. He also served in Shanghai, China shoveling coal into the stove for a big hotel. He returned to the States and was discharged in February 1946. After he was discharged he worked on his father’s farm. He used his G.I. Bill to purchase a home and some land, and to further his work vaccinating chickens.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Louis Wolfort. Wolfort was drafted into the Army in January of 1941. He completed Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox, Kentucky in July of 1942. He was then sent to Camp Funston, Kansas to start the 9th Armored Division. He was a light tank instructor at Camp Funston, then went back to Fort Knox, and provides detail of the equipment he used in training. From there he was sent to the West Coast and shipped out as a replacement officer. He served overseas as a company commander at Headquarters, Southern Islands Area Command under General Robert L. Eichelberger, and provides some detail of that experience. He was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with P.A. Penley. Penley joined the Army in 1942. He studied mechanical engineering at several universities before becoming an infantryman. Penley joined the 66th Infantry Division and was sent to Europe. He mentions a submarine attack on the convoy during the voyage to France that resulted in the loss of over 700 of his fellow soldiers. Penley served as a jeep driver in a weapons company and describes the bitter cold he encountered. He details coming under attack by German artillery. Penley discusses the celebration that occurred when news of the German surrender spread. He participated in the Occupation and was discharged in March of 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Charles Huffman. Huffman joined the Navy in March of 1944. He completed Midshipman’s School in mid-1945, and was completing Advanced-Line Officers School in Florida, when the atomic bomb was dropped. He continued his service after the war ended, traveling to Naval Supply Depots in the Pacific, processing supply requests. Huffman returned to the US in August of 1946, though remained in the reserves through May of 1958.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Robert Goodman. Goodman graduated from Virginia Military Institute in May of 1942 in Electrical Engineering. He served as a Communications Officer with the Signal Corps Company. Goodman traveled to Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, India and Iran. In Iran, his job was to establish a link between the US and Russia in preparation for a supply route. Working with Morse Code, he encoded and decoded messages in a radio room. His was a technical group, not a fighting group. Goodman returned to the US and received his discharge in 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Sheldon Graham. Graham joined the Army in mid-1944. He completed Officer Candidate School just as the war ended. Graham continued his service, joining the 6th Infantry Division, 20th Infantry Regiment, and served with occupation forces in Korea. He returned to the US and received his discharge in October of 1946. Graham remained in the reserves, retiring as a colonel in 1979.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Sheldon Graham. Graham joined the Army in mid-1944. He completed Officer Candidate School just as the war ended. Graham continued his service, joining the 6th Infantry Division, 20th Infantry Regiment, and served with occupation forces in Korea. He returned to the US and received his discharge in October of 1946. Graham remained in the reserves, retiring as a colonel in 1979.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Huie H. Lamb, Jr. Lamb joined the Army Air Forces in February of 1943. He graduated from flight school in February of 1944, and served as a pilot with the 82nd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force. He was deployed to England. On his first mission he flew his P-51, nicknamed Etta Jeanne, and had mechanical problems causing him to ditch the plane in the North Sea. He was picked up by Air Sea Rescue from Martlesham Heath. Between a P-47 and his second P-51, Etta Jeanne II, he flew 61 combat missions over Europe, shooting down German aircraft. Lamb continued his service after the war ended, retiring in 1972.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Bill Feltner. Feltner was born in Combs, Kentucky in 1921. He joined the Army in 1940 and completed basic training, then entered radio school. After a stint as a battalion communications chief, he was sent to Fort Drum, New York to set up a communications school followed by Officer Candidate School at Fort Hood, Texas. Commissioned in 1943, he was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia as a battalion communications officer. In 1944 he was sent to Mindanao as an infantry platoon leader with the 124th Infantry. Later, he was sent to Korea as a military advisor and was wounded. Feltner retired in 1961 as a lieutenant colonel.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Paul Silber. Silber was born in 1925 and recalls life during the depression years. In June 1943, he was drafted into the Army and sent to Fort Hood, Texas for basic training. While there, he was accepted into air cadet training. The program was cancelled before he got started and he was sent to the 13th Armored Division at Camp Bowie, Texas. While there, he applied for Officer Candidate School and was accepted. After being commissioned, he was sent to Tacloban, where he was assigned as a platoon leader in G Company, 2nd Battalion, 34th Infantry. He recalls landing on Mindoro and describes some of the action that followed where he was severely wounded. Following a hospital stay in the Philippines he was put aboard USS Hope (AH-7) and then spent time in several Army hospitals, including Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Lee White. White was born 14 August 1925, graduated high school in 1942, and joined the Army Air Forces in August 1943. He joined the Aviation Cadet Program. White completed pre-flight training in the summer of 1944, then basic flying training, and became a Flight Officer in March 1945. In the summer, he was assigned to glider training in North Carolina, where he was located when the war ended. White continued his service, and went on to have a career in the Air Force as an aviator and flight instructor, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1970.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Thomas Turner. Turner joined the Navy in 1943 and attended boot camp in Virginia with the Seabees. He shipped overseas in early 1944 and headed first for the Solomon Islands in time for the invasion of the Admiralty Islands with the 11th CBs. He was attached to the 71st CB in time for the invasion of Okinawa and went ashore on the first day. at both places, his outfit either built air bases or improved airfields. Turner recall souvenir hunting on Okinawa. He was there when the war ended and was discharge din early 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Neil McBride. McBride was born in Crossingville, Pennsylvania on 20 November 1920. Graduating from high school in 1938, he attended the University of Oklahoma for two years before joining the Navy. After completing five weeks of boot training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Illinois he was sent to Pier 92 in New York City where he remained until the USS PC-470 was launched in June 1942. Following the shakedown cruise, the vessel went to the Banana River, Florida dry dock for repairs to the gun mounts. McBride recalls the crew’s attempts to locate a German submarine that had torpedoed a ship in an Atlantic convoy the PC-470 escorting. After spending thirty months based in Panama, PC-470 participated in the invasion of Leyte during which the boat was hit by shelling from a Japanese shore battery. There were several crewmembers wounded as a result. McBride returned to the United States on leave. He was then assigned to the landing craft repair ship USS Achelous (ARL-1), on which he continued to service until he was discharged November 1945.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Seay. Seay joined the Army in 1943 after beginning field artillery training through the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M. Upon completion, he was deployed to the China, Burma, India Theater to assist with opening the Burma Road. There he trained Chinese forces near Kunming on the use of pack artillery. He was then sent to radio school and coded communications so that he could teach this to the Chinese, as well. Although Chinese forces were often woefully underfunded and untrained due to warlords diverting their resources, Seay oversaw one particular guerilla group that was able to retain their funds and become properly trained. From Seay, they learned to harass Japanese troops traversing mountain passes. Seay was then recruited by headquarters to gather intelligence from local sources regarding the whereabouts of Japanese officers. Upon contracting hepatitis, he was sent to a field hospital in Kunming and was transferred to Calcutta as the war came to an end. Seay returned home and was discharged in December 1945, returning to Texas A&M and earning a degree in civil engineering.